Frosted Sunlight
Prologue Night lay heavily over the forest. A broad shouldered tabby stalked silently through the thick shadow that covered the clearing. He stopped to talk in urgent whispers to a black she-cat, who was on guard duty. She nodded, and the tabby tom swiftly vanished into the darker depths of the gorse tunnel leading out of the camp. The black she-cat's green eyes darkened with worry as he disappeared, as if she expected tomorrow to herald bad things for her Clan. Sunpaw watched him go from the shade of the apprentices' den. She knew that Tigertalon had a habit for causing trouble whenever she left camp. So now she shared Nightwing's secret fear- that another problem would arise. She padded over to Nightwing, her eyes understanding, and sat beside the black she-cat, who was shaking. "I should never have let him past!" shrieked Nightwing, her eyes wide in panic. "StarClan knows what he'll do! You know what Tigertalon's like." Her voice was a panicked shriek of pain and anxiety. The fact that Tigertalon was Nightwing's brother didn't help the matter, as some cats from other Clans already judged her by the way Tigertalon behaved. "He'd have ripped you to shreds if you hadn't." Sunpaw reminded her. "And you're a young and loyal cat- Silverstar needs you." "Doesn't the warrior code say that we should put our Clan before ourselves." challenged Nightwing. "I guess, but-" Sunpaw began, but Nightwing continued. "When I was made a warrior, didn't I say I was willing to die for my clan?" Nightwing spat. "Yes, but-" Sunpaw was interrupted again. "I should have died." Nightwing hissed. "For the good of my Clan." Sunpaw hung her head and padded back into the den sadly, Nightwing's scorching gaze boring through Sunpaw's thin ginger pelt the whole time. I was only trying to help! Chapter One "Are you okay?" asked Frostpaw gently, as Sunpaw walked, dejected and crying, back into the den. She looked angrily up at him, the same angry look in her eyes as had been in Nightwing's only moments before. "Do I look okay?" retorted Sunpaw, her eyes glistening with tears, and the odd 'plop' sound occuring when her tears fell onto the ground of the cave. She stalked past Frostpaw and circled around in her nest until it was comfortable. "No, I guess not." Frostpaw mewed uncertainly, his ice blue eyes filled with hurt. "There you go then." Sunpaw meowed shortly. An eerie silence fell as Sunpaw fell asleep. ---- "May I go out for a bit?" Frostpaw asked Nightwing hesitantly as the black she-cat moved across the clearing to wake Gingerpelt, who was going to relieve her. His mentor nodded, but Frostpaw didn't miss the worry haunting her eyes. "Be back before dawn though." she warned. "Tigertalon's been out again, Frostpaw. And you know what that means." Frostpaw stared. He nodded seriously, then turned swiftly and ran full pelt out of camp. The trees covered him in shadow and he shivered as a chilly wind ruffled his pelt. He settled on a tree root and waited. A weight crashed down on him from above, and a golden pelt smothered him. It was Goldenpaw, from ColourClan. He really loved her, and he knew she loved him back- but two things bothered him. One, it was against the warrior code. His Clan, at least was honourable, and he was proud to be a part of. The last thing it needed was a disloyal warrior torn between two clans. But he couldn't let go of this love- it just couldn't be done. Two, Sunpaw. It was no secret she had a crush on him, but he had always passed himself off to her as a quiet tom that wasn't really interested in she-cats. He had lived a lie; and this was a secret that was hard to keep, and hard to hide from others in his expression. "Can you please get off me?" asked Frostpaw through a mouthful of fur. "Sorry." meowed Goldenpaw. She sounded it, too. She licked his ear fondly. "Anything new happened since last quarter moon?" Frostpaw flinched. "Quieten down!" If the dusk patrol finds you here, you're crowfood for trespassing, and I'm crowfood for letting you get away with it." "Oh, right." mewed Goldenpaw brightly, although she did lower her voice. "Yes, a lot of things." Frostpaw answered his friend's question. "Shortage of prey, but that's not exactly uncommon in leaf-bare, is it?" "You said a lot ''of things, Frostpaw." said Goldenpaw pointedly. "One thing is not a lot." The thumping of pawsteps could be heard, and Frostpaw used them to his advantage. "Goldenpaw, ''run!" One moment later, Tigertalon hurtled through the bushes. A pungent scent hit Frostpaw's nose. Fox! Chapter Two Sunpaw yawned and stretched as the dawn light spilled into the apprentices' den. Looking around, she saw that most of the other apprentices were still asleep, their hot breath filling the den. But then it hit her with a jolt. Frostpaw's nest was empty! ''Suddenly she began to wonder whether it was her fault, and a feeling of guilt overcame her. She saw Nightwing walking out of the warriors' den and went over to the black she-cat, hoping to make up to her after last night. She felt awful about how flatly she had put it and wanted to say sorry. Sunpaw had momentarily forgotten how much the warrior code meant to BlazeClan cats and spoken rather selfishly in her attempts to calm the distressed deputy. "What do you want?" snapped Nightwing, the look in her eyes showing that she hadn't forgotten their argument the night before, either. "I-I'm sorry." stammered Sunpaw, her eyes sad. "I forgot how much the warrior code means." "You hurt me that much and you think we'll be instantly friends if you say ''I'm sorry? I think not." Nightwing spat. She turned away. "Wait!" called Sunpaw desperately. "Have you seen Frostpaw?" Nightwing turned again. Her voice was cold and emotionless. "No." ---- "Silverstar!" called Sunpaw. She really didn't know why she was this worried about Frostpaw- except for the fact she had a major crush on the handsome grey-blue tom. But she had a terrible feeling that he loved another cat, so she had been trying for several sunrises now to give up. But somehow something kept her hungry for Frostpaw's love. When they had met as tiny kits in the nursery, he seemed solitary. But now the little warmness he had given her had seemed to turn to ice of late- as if his warmth was going to the cat he actually loved. But she really wanted an answer out of him, so she had to find him. As if she had summoned him, Frostpaw strolled cheerfully into camp. Nightwing's scathing look stopped him in his tracks. "I said, be back before dawn!" spat Nightwing. She gestured furstratedly up at the sun. "It's sunhigh!" "Sorry." mumbled Frostpaw, ashamed. "But there's a fox on our territory." "Tigertalon?" asked Nightwing. "Tigertalon." confirmed Frostpaw grimly. Chapter Three "We should exile him..." Nightwing murmured. "Even though he's my brother, it is best for the Clan." "I don't know." mewed Silverstar uncertainly. "Although he has, admittedly, caused trouble for this clan, as far as I can tell, none of it happened on purpose." "Then you can't tell much, can you?" Frostpaw heard Softcloud mew dryly from the warriors' den. Nightwing sighed and she hung her head. "I am going to have to tell one of Tigertalon's greatest secrets- I will have to betray him for the good of my clan." "What deputy should have to go through the grief of betraying someone?" asked Troutfin. "It is my duty." replied Nightwing. "Tigertalon can speak badger and fox. He has been telling them to attack..." A shocked mew carried from the far side of camp. "Tigertalon?No!!" "Don't pretend you don't know it's true, Birdsong." breathed Nightwing. She then burst into tears. "I betrayed my brother- how could I?" "You did the right thing, Nightwing." meowed Silverstar comfortingly, resting his tail on Nightwing's shoulders. "You have proved yourselves a loyal warrior. May StarClan honour you for the selflessness of this deed." "The right thing?" squealed Nightwing angrily. "I have betrayed my only littermate..." "Tigertalon." mewed Silverstar commandingly. "Come here." The brown tabby stalked over. "I'll kill you..." he growled in his littermate's ear. "I'll kill you for this someday!" "Is this true?" asked Silverstar. "No! It's all lies." snarled Tigertalon. "Liar!" Nightwing jumped to her paws. She sliced her claws deftly through Tigertalon's neck, to promptly faint. "She did it!" Sunpaw gasped. "Just like StarClan said! Chapter Four "Like StarClan said?" asked Silverstar questioningly. His eyes were wide with confusion. "You knew?" He licked one shaking silver paw nervously. "I would have put another cat on watch..." His gaze flickered to Nightwing, who was looking in pure horror at the blood on her paws, and at the body of her brother, which convulsed, and then lay still, his last breath flowing like smoke into the air as the first snow began to fall. Frostpaw would have liked to chase it with a paw like he had as a kit, but knew inside that the moment was too solemn, and that it wouldn't do to continue as if nothing had happened. He shrank back, only to bump into a wet bundle of golden fur, a wretched sob coming from it every few seconds or so. "Sunpaw?" he mewed cpmfortingly, laying a paw on her shoulder gently. Sunpaw shook it off, looking up at him, tears staining that perfect golden face Frostpaw knew so well. Her fur was sodden and bristling, her eyes still swimming with glassy tears. "Go away!" Sunpaw retorted, her voice trembling with pure terror and fear. A surge of energy let her struggle to her paws, and she looked at the tabby body of Tigertalon, with blood blossoming from a wound. It now lay still but the blood still seeped out, her paws becoming sticky. Frostpaw looked very taken aback, and he ran out of camp again, towards the ancient tree stump that lay in the depths of the forest. Now he was crying too. This was like an earthquake, splitting the two apart- not that either one fully recognised it.